Communicating Your Value As An Interior Designer In The Age Of AI
Everyday, I see interior designers and other creatives struggling with AI [artificial intelligence ] and what it could mean to their future.
And in my private Facebook community for interior designers, Design Wealth, we’ve had many conversations about this.
I know that, for many designers, what they love more than anything else about the design process is the creative process of design…but that’s not true for every designer.
Some designers I know love the project management phase of design more than anything. They love seeing a vision realized. They love solving problems on the spot with multiple trades involved. It fulfills them to know they untangled a knotty problem that will save the client money, time and aggravation. They love it when the client recognizes their ability to do that….and to bring a difficult project in on time and on budget.
Some designers I know love managing a team more than anything. They’re experts at hiring great people and building a culture that brings out the best in each employee, which allows their employees to do great work for the firm’s clients. Their happiness comes from seeing their team working together like clockwork, delivering highly stylized and personalized solutions to multiple clients around the country or around the world. Ferris Rafauli comes to mind…
Some designers I know love managing the procurement process more than anything - handling all of the sourcing, knowing where to go for customization and/or for finding those one of a kind products that an AI bot will never be able to find or have access to.
They love choosing fabrics and finishes and materials that flow from room to room, making sure they all arrive on time, handling all of the delivery and logistics aspects and handling any returns or damages that arise so the client ends up incredibly satisfied and with a sense of joy, well being and happiness because their home has been completely personalized to their tastes.
So, now, let’s go back to AI. We’re at the point, today, when what AI can do is the worst of what it will be able to do in the future. In other words, these bots are getting better every single second at what it is possible to do with AI.
Can AI design a room, right now, and suggest furniture for it? Yes. Can you upload an image of a room in your home and ask AI how to design it? Yes. Can AI make suggestions for a room designed in a certain style and link to vendors whose products reflect that aesthetic? Yes.
BUT… it’s all generic. The furniture suggested comes from the same 15 ecommerce sites. It’s no different than if you were using an e-design site with real humans or going into a big lifestyle retail store.
You, if you’re the buyer using AI are getting a generic room that might suit your needs, but you’re not getting a home personalized down to the last inch - just for you.
Interior design is not about buying furniture. It’s about the way each element in each space is proportioned correctly relative to the scale of the room, it’s about establishing visual rhythm from room to room, it’s about establishing flow from room to room so that, when you’re in that home, you feel a deep sense of well being, harmony, comfort and delight….without even knowing exactly why.
That’s what a human interior designer can do for you. They bring you a home that takes all of these elements into consideration, they personalize it exactly to your tastes and they imbue it with soul… yours and theirs.
So, you have to decide what you value, if you’re the client. Do you value generic rooms that a robot spits out? Or do you value the depth of connection and caring that a human interior designer can offer you?
And if you’re the client, you might think that a human designer is too expensive for you. But, that’s not the case anymore. Most interior and kitchen and bath designers I know offer many levels of service these days, from a short 1 hour consult to solve one specific problem all the way to full service design.
Now, back to you, designers: there are new tools popping up every day for your potential clients to use, but you needn’t worry.
However, it IS important for your design industry organizations - and you, as individual interior designers - to focus on communicating your value to your clients in ways that express what you do that AI can never do.
I hope this post has given you some ideas for how to do that.
And, designers: if you’d like to work with me professionally to help you develop an online communications plan for your business, in the age of AI, please reach out to me at leslie@savourpartnership.com.
Digital marketing for individual interior designers has been my business now for the past 17 years, [as well as structuring innovative online programs for manufacturers and tradeshows ] and helping designers learn how to communicate their value, online - in the age of AI - is top of mind for me at the moment.
Most of my life has been devoted to interior design, in one way or another, and I firmly believe educating about how to use AI is important, as it’s here to stay, but I also believe that AI will never ever replace the profession of interior design, as long as interior designers learn how to communicate their offerings and their value in ways that resonate with those potential clients who value human connection and the timeliness and precision that comes from having a real human solve a problem vs. a robot.
Leslie Carothers
Named One Of The Top 40 Most Inspiring Women In Home By Home Furnishing News Magazine
Winner of Designers Today Magazine’s Readers Ranking Award For Best PR And Marketing Agency
https://www.instagram.com/lesliemcarothers
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliecarothers
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Thank you!